Roberto Cabaleiro and Enrique Buch
It was to investigate whether gender diversity – gender balance – within political municipal government teams affected the municipal indebtedness. Government ideology, the gender…
Abstract
Purpose
It was to investigate whether gender diversity – gender balance – within political municipal government teams affected the municipal indebtedness. Government ideology, the gender of the mayor and the wealth of the municipal environment were considered as moderators.
Design/methodology/approach
We used GMM estimators on two dynamic models and a sample of 144 Spanish municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants for the period 2013–2022.
Findings
Gender diversity within government teams reduces the municipal debt. Furthermore, the government right-wing ideology and the female gender of the mayor are robust moderators of the effects of the gender diversity within government teams on institutional indebtedness.
Research limitations/implications
The differences in financial autonomy and powers to apply public policies by municipalities in the different countries, as well as some differential aspects within the right-wing ideological spectrum, may condition our findings. Within relational demography, gender diversity impacts municipal performance, opening the way to explore other relations in future research.
Practical implications
The tendency to implement legislation to try to achieve high gender balances within political decision-making bodies generates higher gender diversity, and our research shows that it leads to a better financial performance, a matter of transcendental importance for EU, credit rating agencies, and lenders.
Originality/value
This study provides new knowledge about the effect of gender within political decision-making bodies on municipal budgetary management. It is the first research analysing the impact of gender balance in the strict sense within decision-making bodies on municipal indebtedness.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this article is to examine the information culture of a medium-sized municipality in Belgium. Public information/records is/are one of the most important…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to examine the information culture of a medium-sized municipality in Belgium. Public information/records is/are one of the most important instruments of citizens' control of public authorities. The principle of Public Access gives citizens a right to access public records, while the Privacy Act protects the integrity of the citizens. Municipalities are institutions that intensely interact with the citizens. Therefore, the way they handle the information that is generated during this interaction is of crucial importance to the efficient service delivery, safeguarding the rights of the citizens that they serve and for sustaining the open governance structure that promotes the principles of accountability and transparency.
Design/methodology/approach
The author employed a case study approach in order to establish the attitudes and norms the organizational employees had towards the management of information/records. She also applied the information culture assessment framework developed by Oliver during the design of the research questions.
Findings
Information culture affects the way public information/records are managed. Though investments are being made in information systems to facilitate the capture and management of information/records, the people issues are equally as crucial. E-Government development will require an information culture that promotes effective creation, use and management of information, if its goal of efficient and transparent public administrations is to be achieved.
Originality/value
The originality of this study lies in the application of the information culture assessment framework that was developed by Oliver. The framework facilitates the formulation of questions using its three layers to tease out the information required by a researcher in an attempt to draw conclusions regarding the attitudes, norms and the value the interviewees attach to information/records.
Details
Keywords
Alberto Bayo-Moriones, Jose Enrique Galdon-Sanchez and Sara Martinez-de-Morentin
The purpose of this study is to analyze how the design of performance appraisal is influenced by the competitive strategy of the firm. Then, this paper examines if the alignment…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to analyze how the design of performance appraisal is influenced by the competitive strategy of the firm. Then, this paper examines if the alignment between appraisal and strategy impacts firm performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The study sample includes 258 Spanish firms in the manufacturing and services sectors. This information was gathered through questionnaires addressed to the CEO and the senior human resources manager. Several econometric models are estimated, using robust regression analysis and including a set of relevant control variables.
Findings
A positive relationship is found between an innovation strategy and developmental performance appraisal. A cost strategy has a negative impact on the adoption of developmental performance appraisal. The findings also confirm that firms with a quality strategy and developmental appraisal have higher performance. In addition, firms adopting an innovation strategy and administrative appraisal enjoy higher return of equity.
Research limitations/implications
Future research should analyze the dynamics of the relationships between appraisal, strategy and performance to rule out the flaws of cross-sectional data. Another potential extension is the analysis of the interactions of the design of other human resources management practices with both competitive strategy and firm performance.
Practical implications
Firms can improve performance by aligning performance appraisal design with strategy. Those with an innovation strategy should choose administrative appraisal, and those competing on quality should focus on developmental appraisal.
Originality/value
This paper compares the theoretical recommendations on performance appraisal for different competitive strategies, what firms actually do, and the impact that the alignment between appraisal and strategy has on firm performance.
Details
Keywords
Miriam Palacios-Callender, Stephen Andrew Roberts and Thomas Roth-Berghofer
The purpose of this paper is to explore the hypothesis that collaboration was a key characteristic of Cuban science to maintain their scientific capacity during a period of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the hypothesis that collaboration was a key characteristic of Cuban science to maintain their scientific capacity during a period of economic restrictions and an important feature of Cuban science policy and practice for the benefit of society.
Design/methodology/approach
Collaboration was studied through Cuban scientific publications listed in PubMed for the period 1990-2010. The search was carried out using the advanced search engine of PubMed indicating < Cuba > in the affiliation field. To identify participating institutions a second search was performed to find the affiliations of all authors per article through the link to the electronic journal. A data set was created to identify institutional publication patterns for the surveyed period. Institutions were classified in three categories according to their scientific production as Central, Middle or Distal: the pattern of collaboration between these categories was analysed.
Findings
Results indicate that collaboration between scientifically advanced institutions (Central) and a wide range of national institutions is a consequence of the social character of science in Cuba in which cooperation prevails. Although this finding comes from a limited field of biomedical science it is likely to reflect Cuban science policy in general.
Originality/value
Using bibliometric tools the study suggests that Cuban science policy and practice ensure the application of science for social needs by harnessing human resources through national and international collaboration, building in this way stronger scientific capacity.